End of Semester Party at CNELA

It’s easy to deduce from my last blog post that Megan and I are quite popular amongst the English-speaking communities. Already, her and I have attended three events in a matter of a few days. We haven’t even begun teaching at our primary assignments yet. But it has been an interesting experience being the token vazaha here. Indeed, everyone wants to get their hands on us just to speak with us and to tell them how to improve their English, point them in the direction of scholarship programs, and to ask us questions about anything and everything in America.

We had two major events back-to-back on Friday. First, we were invited to the end of the semester celebration at LMA (the high school where Megan works) and the end of the year Christmas part at the Centre National Entrainment de la Langue Anglaise (CNELA). And now having been to three events, I have picked up that there is a template, or at the very least a general outline, for any kind of event in Madagascar. The template goes as follows:

Start 20-30min late on average. Have the MC or whoever is in charge apologize for starting late. Have no one care that it started late because no one got there on time anyways. Have a long speech by the most important person at the institution. Music, kind of. More speeches, all of which are long and anyone remotely with a title in their name is expected to give one. Invitation to food, which means snacks. Eat the same food that is literally at all the other events. Listen to the music that is clearly meant for dancing, but no one really dances because the entire country is a bunch of introverts. Leave whenever, there was never an end time anyways.

And that’s about it. This template is more or less followed, and there is always a good amount of confusion, disorganization, and technical malfunctions that serve to increase the duration of any and every event. It’s just the way things go here.

For instance, we arrived to LMA, waited for a long time before the proviseur of the school came out, apologized for beginning late, made a speech, and then invited people to eat and dance. And that was the whole ceremony. Nothing too special about it. I did notice that people bring drinks to share. When one teacher asked me if things like this were different in the United States, I said yes, very much so. She asked me what was different. I said, “well for starters, parents would never bring beer to a school event. Alcohol isn’t allowed anywhere near a public or private school.” She laughed and thought it was endearing that we get that uptight about alcohol in public places.

In Madagasacr, every institution needs their own twist on things. That is what I discovered at CNELA. We got there early, because our host knows that Americans, at least in theory, like it when things start on time. We waited a long time because, well, the event started 40min late. There was a speech by the director, then the assistant director, then the MC. There was live music and several performances, all of which were great. We ate food, which really means little snacks. We took photos with just about everybody. Then probably the greatest thing ever happened.

I’m not sure how many end of the year parties you have been to. But I’ve been to a few, and they usually have a similar outline of speech, gratitude, food, and music. But after everything was said and done, or at least, it seemed that way, I was informed that there was going to be a Zumba session. What?!

That’s right, what better way to end the year at a Christmas party than to try to get a bunch on naturally introverted Malagasy teachers of English to get up, shake their booties, and boogie on the dance floor with some dance-centered exercise. I can’t even make it up. That’s exactly what happened. And it went on for nearly an hour! Of course, I joined in for parts of it. How could I not?

Here is a picture of Megan getting into Zumba.

But the event was a good icebreaker for me. What I mean by this is that we are often focused on the extravagance of lifestyle and presentation in the United States. We need to have the right music, the right dress, the right food. We always need to bring things to a higher level, impress others, make ourselves feel satisfied that we have done everything in our power to make sure everyone has a good time. That’s not the way things are here. It’s far simpler than all of that. And this first taste of Madagascar’s simplicity was welcoming for sure. They don’t need fancy food, clothing, or music to celebrate. They sure try, sometimes. But they are honestly just happy that anyone would just show up in the first place. Presence is important. Although parts of Malagasy society have similar issues of people being obsessed with their phones, it’s not to the same extent as it is in the United States.

It was a good first lesson. Waiting at long events and having everything take a long time will be a good thing for me. I like to think I’m patient. But I know that is far from the truth with some aspects of my life. Perhaps it’s time to live in the moment, even if that moment is taking forever to pass by. Later this week I will share with you the graduation ceremony we attended. Until then, let us be patient and live in the moment, even the boring ones. I think it was master Oogway from Dream Works’ Kung-Fu Panda who quoted an old saying, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, and today a gift. That it why it is called the present.”

As always, know that you are in my prayers each morning. All I ask is that you do the same for me.

May God be praised.